Hotter Than Peppermint
by Sailor Grape
Summary: H/D *slash one-shot* When Draco receives an unwanted Christmas gift, he unknowingly pawns it off on Harry, who will help him learn to appreciate the gift's value. Fluffy like pink cotton candy!


Woohoo, I cranked out another fic! Don't ask me where this idea came from. The one thing I can explain is the minty flavor to everything. I am a self-proclaimed peppermint junkie. I came up with this idea when I ran out of Certs and Icebreakers gum and peppermint Lifesavers. Needless to say, I was not happy. But I did come up with this little ditty, so I hope you like it!  
  
Disclaimer: Pepperminty Harry and Draco do not belong to me...  
  
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Red and white swirls stared back at him mockingly. It was as if there were tiny little smirks hidden in each of those brightly colored stripes, and it was quite unnerving.  
  
Slamming down the lid on the lavishly decorated metal tin full of the tiny discs, Draco Malfoy wrinkled his nose in displeasure. Talk about being disappointed! This was supposed to be the one thing he absolutely loved about Christmas. Forget the trees and the decorations. Forget the off-key caroling that Dumbledore insisted everyone participate in. Forget the presents, even. Draco had everything he wanted. Well, everything that can be bought, anyway.  
  
But now, now his entire vacation was ruined. He so looked forward to his mum's holiday packages, because that meant he received her famous peanut butter and white chocolate chip cookies that she made herself, the Muggle way. They were his favorites, and he cherished them at holidays.  
  
This treat-filled tin, however, was a vast disappointment. Did it contain cookies? No. And all because his mum didn't have time to bake them. She had decided to join his father in Spain, where he was meeting with some wizarding officials at an annual peacekeepers meeting. His father had been promoted at the Ministry of Magic after his life-endangering position as a spy in Voldemort's Death Eater circle had helped lead to the downfall of the Dark Lord. Apparently no one knew he was a spy except for Dumbledore. Draco's mother hadn't even known. It was a complete shock to everyone.  
  
So now, here were his parents, vacationing in some exotic city, no doubt having the time of their lives as they left him behind. And why was Draco stuck at Hogwarts and not at home, where he could be doted on by house-elves? Oh, right. His parents had chosen this holiday for the house to be magically renovated. Draco was the only Slytherin not going home for the holidays. He was alone. He wouldn't even be able to enjoy his cookies. All he had was a note of holiday wishes from his parents, not to mention the dreaded tin, filled to the brim with the one thing Draco disliked the most.  
  
Peppermints.  
  
He really couldn't stand them. He had always gone for sweet. Salty even, on the right occasion. But he never had an affinity for peppermint, or mint of any kind. They were just too hot for him. The taste lingered in his mouth long after he had eaten one, as if it never wanted to go away. It was seriously unpleasant.  
  
Taking the tin, Draco walked determinately out of the Slytherin common room and trekked down the dank dungeons corridors. Now that he thought about it, Draco realized that he had all of the dungeons to himself. His fellow Slytherins were gone. So was Snape, for that matter. All he had told Draco was that he needed to get away from "Dumbledore's dimwitted bumbling and incessant cheeriness." Draco couldn't blame the Potions Master for wanting to take a vacation.  
  
Now up in the main halls of the castle, his silver eyes darted back and forth as he looked for someone to give the offensive mints to. Why wasn't there anyone around when he needed someone? There were always idiots milling about when he wanted to be alone, but now that he was actually looking for someone, he couldn't find a single soul. Growling in frustration, Draco vowed to give the candy to the next person he met.  
  
It didn't take long. As Draco rounded the corner, he ran straight into someone. Not even bothering to see who this someone was, he thrust the tin into the person's hands and said, "Take this. I don't want it." And then he spun on his heels and marched off in the same direction he had come from.  
  
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Lounging on the deep scarlet couch in the Gryffindor common room, Harry Potter once again replayed the previous events in his head. He had been eating lunch with Lisa Turpin and Terry Boot, both of Ravenclaw, as the whole of Gryffindor had left for the holidays. Deciding to return to his room to wrap some Christmas presents, he had been ambushed in the hallway. Needless to say, he was quite surprised when Draco Malfoy, after running into Harry, no less, had given the Gryffindor a large tin filled with peppermints.  
  
In the hour he had been contemplating this, Harry still couldn't understand why Draco would want to give away peppermints. There was nothing wrong with them; Harry had cast many a spell to be certain. He was pretty sure that Draco didn't know who he was giving the candies to. The blonde's eyes had been looking at the tin in his hands instead of paying attention to who was in front of him. Otherwise Harry had the feeling that he wouldn't be staring at the tin just now.  
  
But he was, so he might as well enjoy them, right? On that note, Harry reached into the tin and pulled out a peppermint, smoothing off the wrapper before popping it into his mouth. His eyes almost watered at the strong flavor that invaded his senses. Never had he eaten a peppermint this strong. It was like his mouth was on fire, burning him from the inside out.  
  
Quickly crunching the candy into tiny bits, Harry swallowed it and felt the cool burn of mint slide down his throat. Wow, that was intense! Harry briefly wondered if they were wizards' candy, as no Muggle peppermints he had tasted ever left that burning aftertaste in his mouth. It was hot, but it was good! Sinking into the couch, Harry happily munched on the candies.  
  
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Merlin, he was so bored! Didn't Dumbledore plan any holiday activities that weren't so incessantly irksome? It was after dinner, and Draco had taken to wandering the halls. He didn't want to be in the dungeons. Normally he would relish the quietude, but he just didn't feel like quiet at the moment. He wanted to be around people, for once.  
  
Unfortunately, people seemed to be lacking in the castle. Draco had been walking for over an hour and had yet to run into anyone. At this point, he would settle for the presence of anyone, even Potter. Especially Potter.  
  
Ah, Harry Potter. The thorn in Draco's side. The foil to all his dastardly plans. The star of every good dream Draco had ever had in the past couple of years. As much as Draco hated to admit it, and he would *never* admit it aloud or to another living soul, he had a thing for the Boy Wonder.  
  
It wasn't just lust. Oh, that was a factor, too. Well-defined muscles stretching across tanned skin, both due to excessive amounts of Quidditch practice; that dark, unruly hair that curled about his face messily, and those eyes. Those large emerald orbs that stared at him so that he couldn't look away, especially now that they weren't hidden behind those tacky glasses. Yes, the Gryffindor was definitely very sexy. There was no denying it.  
  
But he was also the only person Draco allowed to get the best of him and not get hexed into oblivion for it. Sometimes he really, really wanted to, and he came close to it a few times, wand out and spell on the tip of his tongue, but it never went any further than that. He never could bring himself to hurt Harry. Draco snorted. When had he become such a nancy-boy?  
  
A while ago. Last month. Last year. He didn't remember, and he didn't care. The feelings were there, and that was all that mattered.  
  
He turned down another long hallway. Just as he passed Professor Binns' History of Magic classroom, he heard footsteps echoing behind him. Turning around, Draco found himself face to face with none other than Harry Potter.  
  
"Malfoy," Harry smiled pleasantly at his rival.  
  
Fighting the urge to return the smile, Draco curled his lips into a sneer, but with much more difficulty than usual. "Potter," he acknowledged.  
  
They stared at each other for nearly half a minute before Harry decided to talk. "So, staying for Christmas?" he asked, very aware of the obviousness of the question.  
  
"I'm standing here, aren't I?"  
  
"Yes, you are. And so am I," Harry added softly as he took a step closer to Draco. "Thank you for the peppermints."  
  
What? It was Harry whom he had run into earlier? Why hadn't he looked up before stalking off? Now Harry was going to suspect that Draco had feelings for him, which he did, but he didn't want that to be known!  
  
Expertly covering up his shock, he answered, "I just wanted to get rid of the blasted things. I don't like them."  
  
Harry contemplated this for a moment. "That's too bad," he said finally, shrugging.  
  
"Why is that too--" Draco's question was efficiently cut off as Harry leaned in and captured Draco's lips with his own.  
  
Not even bothering to wonder why his enemy of seven years had decided to kiss him, Draco eagerly pressed his mouth against Harry's, arms unconsciously snaking around Harry's waist to pull the two bodies closer to one another.  
  
This was unlike anything Draco had ever experienced before. An overpowering flavor exploded in his mouth, melting in-between the soft, unrelenting strokes of Harry's tongue in Draco's mouth. He recognized the strong taste of peppermint lingering on his own tongue, along with the unique taste of Harry. It was an absolutely intoxicating combination, making his head spin. Right then and there, he decided that peppermint and Harry was his new favorite flavor.  
  
As Harry pulled away, Draco growled low in his throat, and Harry grinned. He turned and began walking away when a hand grabbed his arm.  
  
"Why did--why did you kiss me?" Draco demanded breathlessly, lips swollen from the kisses and numb from the peppermint.  
  
"Mistletoe," Harry replied simply before tugging his arm out of Draco's grasp and resuming his walk back down the hallway.  
  
Unmoving, Draco watched Harry disappear around the corner. He had just been thoroughly kissed by Harry Potter. Did that really happen? Judging from the still minty taste in his mouth, he would have to say that yes, it did really happen.  
  
Snapping out of his momentary stupor, Draco glanced up at the mistletoe--only there wasn't any. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Draco's common sense had been wondering why a stuffy old ghost like Professor Binns would celebrate Christmas. Turns out he didn't.  
  
Breaking into a sprint, Draco rounded the corner and almost smacked into Harry, who had been leaning against the wall patiently. "There was no mistletoe above the door," Draco said accusingly once he caught his breath.  
  
Harry smiled, stepping away from the wall. "I know. I hung the mistletoe in my common room. You're more than welcome to check it out." Chuckling at Draco's shocked expression, Harry brushed past the blonde and continued on his way down the hall.  
  
Letting Harry's last statement sink in, Draco's smiled wickedly. He dashed after the Gryffindor, wrapping an arm snugly around his waist. "Do you still have any of those peppermints?"  
  
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The End! If I were Draco and that happened to me, I would change my mind about peppermints, too! So, what did you think? I was going for cuteness mixed in with a pinch of humor, and, of course, the mint to make it hot! Did I succeed? Please let me know! I love my reviews, and I love my reviewers, and they make me want to write more! And that's a good thing, because I'm currently working on two other H/D fics, not to mention another couple of fic ideas being mapped out in my notebook. So please drop me a line! I'd greatly appreciate it! 


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